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By Caitlin Ford
Despite COVID-19 lockdown measures, livestock health and animal health surveillance have remained robust during the pandemic, according to a University of Guelph study.
During Ontario’s first lockdown in the spring of 2020, Dr. Zvonimir Poljak, a professor in the Department of Population Medicine, and his research team studied changes in health surveillance and analyzed poultry and swine screening trends from previous years.
Test samples from livestock are routinely submitted to the University of Guelph’s Animal Health Laboratory (AHL) to check for respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases. The lab analyzes samples for common viral and bacterial pathogens to confirm disease-free animals and to monitor for and better manage outbreaks.
The researchers compared the frequency of AHL diagnostic test submissions and the results in 2020 with those of pre-pandemic years.
“These submissions are a fundamental component of provincial and federal animal disease surveillance,” said Poljak. “In light of ongoing outbreaks and epidemics of animal disease, lower levels of surveillance coverage could have serious impacts on the detection of these events and the timely implementation of control measures.”
The researchers also interviewed members of the Ontario Animal Health Network – a collaborative animal health surveillance organization – to further explore surveillance trends and explain any gaps in surveillance caused by the pandemic.
Poljak says this research is important for swine and poultry producers, as disease outbreaks are a major animal health, food safety and security concern.
The team found no significant change in health surveillance compared to previous years. Producers submitted significantly more test submissions for porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus, but there was no increase in positive tests.
The researchers found no notable changes in other pathogens, showing that social distancing and the first lockdown had no detrimental effect on livestock.
“These results indicated that measures implemented to manage COVID-19 in the human population did not have a negative impact on swine surveillance.”
The study also involved Population Medicine collaborators Dr. Tatiana Petukhova and Dr. David Pearl and AHL members Dr. Maria Spinato, AHL director; veterinarian Dr. Jim Fairles; and Dr. Murray Hazlett, veterinary pathologist.
This research was supported by the University of Guelph COVID-19 Research Development and Catalyst Fund, the AHL and the Ontario Veterinary College.